An explosive fruit

Long I have been considering the pommegrenate or rodi in Greek or rodie-surprise surprise-in Romanian as I learnt only today.I have been attracted by it (and the tree)since I was younger but again today only my friend Andrea suggested I write about it and got me into the mood.

I love it because it is a wealth of colour.Pink to orange as a flower,golden red when it ripens and......open it and behold the red seeds!And there 's more!Leave it on the tree and one day,catching you unawares,it will explode into a shower of seeds to offer its children back to the ground,to propel itself into the future,to germinate and grow.

And then there's the tree.A rich tapestry of bloom twice a year,laden with its golden red fruits later,a Christmas tree that does not need Christmas to glow,to warm your heart.How many songs have been written about trees?Think none.Except for her,the lady with the fine leaves and the pretty curves.

The fruit?Now we get to the real beauty.Appeals to sight,touch,smell and taste.The seeds are lightly sweet,many and do not yield easily-you have to pick them out one by one.A great pastime too,peanuts pale compared to them.And their juice is a natural antioxidant,never mind its almost non existent sugar content.Get a decent cocktail without grenadine?This symbol of fertility,etrnity and good luck in my culture(we smash them on the porch each New Year's Day),sung by the Jews and giving its name to the beauty that is Granada in Spain,buried with their dead by the ancient Egyptians, one of the three blessed fruit in Buddhism , is a true gift.

There is no war,no violence here.Only nature at its best.